Two of A Kind
by ElectricQuill23
Summary: Eriya and Naria are back in an encore performance in the dramatic 'Two of A Kind'. It seems that the Leopard Twins' worries never stop as someone tries to get them kicked out of Sakazaki College. Please R and R, even flamers.
1. New Beginnings

Two Of A Kind

**By Electric_Quill23**

****

_This fanfic takes place in an alternate Escaflowne universe where the war is still over, Eriya and Naria never died, Folken is still dead, and Merle is Eriya and Naria's niece. After Folken died, Eriya and Naria requested that Hitomi take them back to her world, where they would start over, and their bad reputation would not follow. Hitomi agreed, and they left without Merle (she wanted to stay with Van Fanel to keep him company, knowing that she would never see her aunts again). This takes place shortly after they arrived on Earth, and the twins are now young adults._

The sounds of a swordfight could be heard in a Japanese home. Two Gaeans are squaring off against each other in practice blades. 

"Don't you have anymore than that, Eriya?!" Naria said.

This made Eriya even madder. Naria was always better at swordfighting then her. Ever since they had fell in love with Folken, everything was a competition between them. They cared about each other, but they had cared about Folken more. The result of this was a growing feud between the sisters, and it seemed to never stop.

 "Stop, Eriya," the silver-haired leopard girl said. "Something's obviously bothering you. Would you care to tell me?"

 Eriya wanted to destroy something. She was angry, but she tried not to show it. Because of the situation with Folken, she never exposed her feelings to the world. She used to be sad that Folken was gone. Now, she was just blood-red _mad_.

 "Naria, I hate Folken for dying on us. He should never have—"

"Don't even say that! Folken was good to us. A little strict, but good to us. He loved us as if we were…I don't know. But he treated us well. You know that."

"Ever since I found out you were in love with Folken, I was a little disheartened. You know, the feeling you get when you find out another girl has your man."

"I know the feeling well. Remember, I found out _you_ loved him, too."

"But after that, there was something else. We _were_ devoted to him and I felt this need to outdo you in every way. Now how petty is that?"

"I felt the same way."

"But why are we _still _doing it?"

"Because we both must still love him. But he _is_ gone, and we left him behind on Gaea. There really is no reason why we should compete anymore. We may be twins, and instead of trying to outdo each other in the same things, why don't we just get really good in different things?"

"Well we _are _going to college, thanks to Hitomi's family. And they _did _help us find our jobs."

"Tomorrow is the first day, are you excited?"

"I don't know. Huge guymelefs I can handle. But college professors…"

They both laughed at the silly joke, but Eriya really _was _nervous about school.


	2. Good Things Can Happen...

Sakazaki College was a good-sized school, one with some of the most appealing features and some of the highest credentials. The Kanzakis had outdone themselves when it came to the leopard-twins' education.

 Eriya and Naria decided it would be best to wear different outfits rather than matching ones to prevent guys from trying to pick them up. Too bad. They attempted to anyway.

"Hey, chicky, want to see _my_ scratching post?!"

"Run those claws down _my _back, babe! Meow!"

And they went on and on. The sisters looked at each other and could only think of one thing they could be.

"Perverts."

And Eriya and Naria continued their quest for learning.

They finally got caught up in the social aspect of college.

Someone tried to get Eriya to sign up for a sorority, and she said no.

Someone then tried to get Naria to sign up for the swordfighting team.

And that's where Naria got caught. She signed up right away. The thought of being able to go to school while swordfighting really thrilled her.

But Eriya also was experimenting with certain things, and she got involved with the Student Government. She became a senator, and planned on running for Student President. Things went well, and both their grades were high, Naria was winning _a lot_ of swordfighting matches in all three of the sword-classes, while Eriya was getting to be _very _popular with the students. But one thing was missing: love. Neither Eriya nor Naria had managed to get a boyfriend. The truth was, the students respected them, and that the chauvinistic guys had given up hitting on them (which was good), except the rest of the male student body wouldn't even touch either one of them, as if they were _dirty_. They were understandably upset. But nothing happened.


	3. A Fateful Meeting

A young man by the name of Yasuo Tanaka stood in his mansion-like home, looking out the window. He waited as Warren Davison made his way from the airport. He knew that he needed to do this. He knew it was wrong. How he would do it was a complete mystery. But he needed the money. His father would not support his video game software venture.

 The doorbell rang. He answered it, and he let the American man in.

"Traffic was hell," Warren said. "I didn't think Japan was this crowded."

"Why didn't you use the trains?"  
"I did. When I took the taxi here an accident happened. So there was a lot of traffic."

"Sorry. Anyway, you wanted to discuss the Leopard Sisters?"  
"Yes. Do you think we could have some food? I'm starving."

 So Yasuo had the house chef prepare a meal for them. They sat down and discussed business.

"Why do you want me to do this?"

"Because you've got money and you're desperate enough to do it. If they get thrown out of Sakazaki and arrested, we can take custody of them. They're too naïve to know that we have plans for them."

"But why them?"

"As you know, they _are_ leopard-women. Which means they must possess some natural fighting ability inside them, one more exceptional than any human's. And their bodies seem too perfect. No normal human would have a body like that."

"What will you do with them?"

"We're trying to develop fighting machines that aren't machines at all, more like soldiers. We want to study the Leopard Sisters, to see what makes them tick. The only way to do that is if we get them out of the college. When we do, we will be able to take custody of them and begin our operations."

"When will I get paid?"

"After you finish the job. If you don't mind, I'd like to go get some sleep."

"Of course."

Warren left as Yasuo thought long and hard about how he was going to get the two leopard-women kicked out of the school.


	4. Don't Try This At Home, Kids!

"Hurry up, Eriya! Do you want to be late?!"

"No way! I bought an expensive outfit for this very party!"

The sisters had been invited to a party thrown by Yasuo Tanaka, the school's resident rich boy.

Eriya walked out into view, and even Naria was a bit stunned by her sister.

"Wow. Those guys will be all over you!"

"No, Dwayne and Gareth both have dates."

"They _are_ picking us up, right?"

"Of course!"

As if on cue, an automobile's horn honked.

They went outside, climbed into what they had come to know as a minivan.

"Are you two all—HELLO!"

The four of them looked at the passengers in the back seat. Gareth's nose was now dripping with blood.

"GARETH!" Gareth's date screamed. She took her purse and whacked him with it.

"Can I help it if there are four beautiful women in the van?"

"Keep your thoughts clean and that won't happen!"

They talked about how much fun they were going to have. Finally they arrived at the place, a very expensive mansion. They all got out, and Eriya and Naria decided to stick together. They had a little alcohol, they danced with Dwayne and Gareth for fun, and they mingled a little.

 Then they ended up in a group that was playing a drinking game called Truth, Dare, or Drink. Eriya and Naria had _no_ idea what they had gotten themselves into. Since they did not want to reveal anything about their past, it was mostly Dare or Drink. In the amount of time since the game started until now, one of the two had done either of the following: stuck their fist in their own mouth, stuck out their tongue and touched their nose (Naria's tongue was surprisingly flexible), smoked a cigar, recited the alphabet backwards (while drunk, mind you!), actually _meowed_ a song and other crazy things. Finally it was Eriya's turn, she was _very _drunk and the guy named Yasuo in front of her was asking the questions.

"Truth, dare, or drink?"

"I dowanna tell ya no truf and I had enuf ta drink tho I think I gonna dare," Eriya said with slurred speech.

"You have to French-kiss a person that I pick out of a hat."

"Fine wif me," she said.

She began to write names down on pieces of paper and put them in a hat. After mixing them up, she pulled one out, and read the name.

"Naria," Yasuo said.

"No fair, y' put Nariiiiiiiiiiie's name in therrrre. I kent kiss mah own—"

"You have to down a whole bottle if you refuse."

Eriya shook her head at Naria but Naria winked at her.

_She more must be I am drunk than. (She must be more drunk than I am.)_

The sisters awkwardly embraced each other and they were both scared that _something _would spark between them.

"Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it—!"

Naria knew that Eriya would not do it, so she initiated what was supposed to be a full 60-second lip lock.

They cheered on, but Eriya caught on, and she got an idea.

_We'll show 'im._

Eriya began using her tongue, to the surprise of Naria. Eriya shifted her weight so that she forced Naria to shift positions with her, so that they now were lying on the couch. They didn't do anything else. After that, they both sat up, and realized everyone was staring.

"Yeh wanted a fuckin' show, ya get one. Doesss anyone got a strrong cup 'a cawwfee?"

After that, they both passed out from the volume of alcohol in their bodies.


	5. The Morning After

The next morning was a Saturday morning, and when Eriya and Naria woke up, they were in the same bed together, in their house.

"Ohhhh, my freakin' head," Naria said.

"You aren't the only one. What the hell happened last night? Ohhhh," Eriya replied, massaging her head.

"There was lots of alcohol. You and I were…kissing. I remember it."

"Did we do anything?"

"Enough to make me regret it. I love you, but not in that way, Eriya. I think we just may have become the most infamous people in school."

"If we were all tipsy like that, how did we get home?"

"Dwayne and Gareth, probably. They're nice guys."

"This is a terrible mistake I've made! What if I run for Student President and someone pulls out evidence of this?! How can I prove I was drunk at the time?"

"We're dead. This isn't funny."

Naria made coffee and turned on the TV. The local news was on, and she watched it as she waited for the coffee to brew.

"A young woman is now dead according to police sources. Hikari Daishiba, a student at Sakazaki College was driving along a road when she hit a bicyclist, causing her to skid and slamming into a telephone pole. Daishiba was a member of the women's fencing team and was a sophomore. Police believe she was drunk while the accident happened. The bicyclist is unhurt."

Naria was shocked. Hikari was her teammate, and other than Eriya, her best friend. Naria let out a noise that even her sister could hear over the noise of the shower.

"No, Kari," she said as if she was talking to her friend. "Why did you do that? You silly girl." She then felt a deluge of frustration. "Oh, the hell with it! Curses, can't anything go right for us? Soldiers of Enhanced Fortune, my ass! More like Losers of All Damn Bad Luck, for crying out loud! You want something to go right, you have to see to it yourself!"

"Naria, is that you?"

Naria tried to hide her tears and anger before her younger sister came in, but she failed.

"What's wrong, Naria?"

"Nothing."

"You can't lie to me! We tell each other everything."

"My friend Kari died last night."

"Wasn't she at the party?"

"Yes. And she got in her car and drove home, except she didn't get there."

"What happened?"

"She crashed into a telephone pole. They said she was drunk while she was driving."

"Oh, Naria—"

Naria hugged her big sister, knowing that she was hurting inside. She had no idea what to do besides that.

"What are you going to do?"

"Only one thing _to _do," Naria said.

"What's that?"

"Go to her funeral, and her graveside ceremony."

"You're too upset to do that!"

"It's the only way I'm going to get over it. I need to see her for one last time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. But I don't know how I'm going to be able to work while upset."

"Cancel all of the swordfighting lessons. That way you won't have to."

"I still need to see her."

"In time, sister. In time."


	6. Farewell

It was a sunny day, but to the twins the day was definitely dark. Eriya and Naria, clad in black, managed to make it to the funeral. The Daishiba family had chosen to have American ceremonies, because Hikari's boyfriend was American. Her father was asked to give the eulogy, and Naria managed to make it through. When she went up to the casket, she placed one of her spare swords she had used when she still was with the Zaibach forces.

"Hikari Daishiba, you lived with the sword, and you'll be buried with the sword. Farewell, brave swordswoman."

She walked away, and sat down again.

The pair carpooled with someone else to the gravesite, and they got through the ceremony. But Hikari's boyfriend Jack had one more thing to say.

"I know I am American and I'm not very good with public speaking, especially in front a group this size. But I think I need to read this."

He pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it, and read it.

"Saying Hikari was a beautiful woman is an understatement. Kari was so beautiful, her beauty spread to those around her. I hope that after she is buried, the cherry trees that are in this place drink the never-ending beauty from her body so that when the _sakura_ bloom again, they will be the most beautiful cherry trees in the entire country. This way she can still amaze us with her beauty even from beyond the grave."

Everyone was speechless at what Jack had said. Naria was actually amazed at the beautiful words he had spoken.

But eventually the ceremony ended and everyone was leaving to go home.

"Do you feel better, Naria?" Eriya asked.

"I think so. It was a bittersweet goodbye."

"Just like when we left Merle with Van Fanel?"

"That wasn't nearly as tragic."

"Well, I'm glad you feel better. Let's go get some lunch."


	7. Blade Runner

The organization had started a new class for swordfighting, the hybrid class. All the better for Naria, who could now be as many times as deadly as there were swords. But her opponent was the second best fighter on the best swordfighting team in Japan.

She was now in the finals, and her opponent was a _bishonen _named Iori Shoji.

He may be pretty, but his looks won't save him from my blade. Allen Schezar didn't faze me and neither will Iori. Allen didn't. He was just a prettyboy who just knew how to fight, that's all. Really. Allen didn't faze me.

Iori smiled a smile that normally would have made anyone swoon, but Naria did not respond. She pointed her blade at him.

 The fight started, and Iori played it safe. Naria came in aggressively, and attacked at every possible moment, who was countered by Iori's defensive moves. Finally Naria made a mistake and Iori tagged her with his blade. And he scored points.

Naria was more careful this time, but was tagged again.

Naria was getting angry, and when she got angry her swordfighting did one of two things, suffer or get better. Now it was suffering. She needed something to fight for. Then she saw someone in the crowd holding up a sign that said KARI WE WILL MISS YOU. She knew then whom she fought for.

She began attacking again, and this time she began scoring points. But Iori was keeping up with her, and they were tied. Finally the judges came in and stopped the match, saying that Iori wasn't using a regulation sword. As a result, she won. But she was angry that she won this way. Still, it laid the pavement for the Hybrid Obstacle Championship, where she and someone else would fight over a specialized battleground. Little did they know they were playing into the swordswoman's hands…


	8. Freeze Frame!

Daisuke Toriyamoto counted the cash from his commission check as soon as he got out of the bank. Tanaka had been generous with the money, and why Tanaka wanted photos depicting a relationship between the Leopard Sisters was beyond him. But he was glad to work on the project, because it meant he could buy a used car.

 He went to his on-campus apartment and readied his camera to take to school. The Leopard Sisters were hard to catch, and he would spend a lot of time snapping pictures. He figured that finding that money shot would be impossible, but he decided _building _one would be improbable. He took what he could get.

 He began a huge library of pictures, all with a shot of at least _one _Leopard Sister, if not both of them. He soon would have enough material to create a picture of them kissing. He needed some more photos.

 Daisuke found Eriya sitting in the cafeteria, studying for her Japanese course. He set the camera to its triple-click function and waited.

He was waiting for her to yawn, not a true cat's yawn like he was afraid she would do, but a half-assed yawn that would leave her mouth open long enough to at least get three shots in. So he waited.

"It's too bad I have to ruin her life. She seems like such a classy girl," Daisuke whispered to himself.


	9. Politics As Usual?

The Student Government Rally was going really well. Eriya was so pleased with her performance that she thought she had the election in the bag. She took off her eyeglasses and folded them up casually.

"And as Student President I will look for what's in everyone's interest, so that I will please the students and Sakazaki College itself. I want the students and the College to know that I am on no one's side, and that I look to make sure that the students and the College do not conflict their interests," Eriya said. She even had dressed like a politician, minus being so damn old.

 "Good way to bullshit the crowd, girl," her opponent said. His name was Yasuo Tanaka, and he was such a hottie. Too bad he was the biggest jerk on the planet. He seemed to please the crowd with his rebellious nature and good looks. 

"Boys and girls, Eriya Leopard (her new name) has obviously forgotten the important part of college: the experience. How can we experience anything if we're constantly under the rule of the administration? The Student Government needs to be given more power, so that we can rule ourselves as we see fit."

"Mr. Tanaka, I think our government has been doing fine. Besides, how many years have you served as a Congressperson? I served three. You served two semesters. And as I recall, you just decided to run because you couldn't get permission to start a banned club. That is a sign of poor decision-making."

"I think you may have been drinking too much again, girl," Yasuo said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a little secret I picked up. And wouldn't you like to know."

Eriya's heart was pounding so hard in her chest she didn't know what to do. She knew very well what he was talking about, but thankfully no one else did. She wanted something to happen right about now. And something did.

Klaxon alarms sounded and the entire crowd made their way out of the building. The fire department came, and they found out that someone triggered the fire alarm on purpose. The crowd of students dispersed, and Eriya found her sister, who was trying to contain her laughter.

"What's so funny, Naria?"

"Did you wonder who pulled the fire alarm?"

"Not really."

"It was me!"

"It's not that funny to me. It actually was a social life-saver."

"How so?"

"Someone knows our secret."

"Damn it!"

"Someone very powerful."

"Is it the administration or faculty?"

"Thankfully, no."

"Who is it?"

"Yasuo Tanaka. He's my opponent in the election. Yasuo is arrogant, rebellious, and worst of all, cute."

"Yasuo! He can approve my bill any day!"

"He's also the world's biggest piece of crap."

"Why?"

"Like I said, he knows our secret. He might have evidence to prove it and he might even use it to bump me out of the election. I think he's toying with me like a cat plays with a mouse before it eats it."

"This is so not good."

"I have a few friends who might help me. I have a friend who's studying to be a detective and another that's studying to be a computer programmer. So, I'm not totally in the dark."

"I want to help, if I can," Naria said.

"Sabotage is against the College's rules, and I have no use for a swordswoman nor a lawyer. At least not yet."

"Just let me know if you need anything," Naria said.

"I love you, Shiruha," Eriya said, hugging her sister and using her sister's Japanese nickname.

"I love you too, Koruto," Naria said, using her sister's nickname as well.

All of a sudden they heard a camera's click.

"Someone's spying on us! You go that way, and I'll go this way!"

The sisters split up and looked for the snooping photographer. Naria found him, and she chased him down, which wasn't hard because he was a non-athletic geek.

Eriya caught up with her sister and the two questioned him.

"Why were you taking our picture?"

"Photography class?" the geek said.

"Wr—"

"Quiet, Naria! I know what I'm doing!" Eriya said. She gave her sister a wink.

"Excuse my sister, she doesn't react well to people taking her picture un-expectedly. What is your name?"

"Daisuke Toriyamoto. Yasuo told me not to get caught! I am fired!"

"Well, forget about that loser Yasuo. Everyone knows the real money is with the Leopard Sisters," Eriya said. She then stuck her face so close to his and began speaking in a very sultry way. "Have you ever done a very up…close...and… personal…photo…shoot?"

"Uhh, n-no, Ms. Leopard. I really haven't—"

"Well, now. I think it's time you have. Give me your address and we'll see you at seven."

"Uhh, okay. I make my own business cards, too."

"I'm impressed, Daisuke. That's very professional. I expect the same quality when we see you tonight."

Eriya kissed Daisuke on the lips. Daisuke, who now had a nosebleed, was running away. After he left, Eriya spit on the ground as if trying to get a horrible taste out of her mouth.

"What a disgusting person! But you do what you have to in order to investigate!"

"You aren't serious about us posing—"

"Very serious. But don't worry. He may seem to be doing me a disservice by doing what he's about to do, but it'll all be worth it once he realizes all his pictures of us are gone."

"Wicked. That's worse than taking Dilandau's matches and hiding them!"

"Gimme a fiver, sis!"

The two high-five each other and realize they are about to commit a crime. But then again, the girls never really played by the rules anyway. The Bad Girls of Zaibach are back!


	10. Revenge Of The Girls

The sisters walked up to the apartment building and rang the buzzer. Daisuke let them in, and they both came into the apartment. It was nicely decorated, with photos, drawings, sculptures, and paintings. Even the furnishings were a work of art.

"Wow." Eriya said.

"You expected comic books and movie posters? Please. Those are just hobbies. Art is my life. Would you like a drink?"

"Pink lemonade."

"I was hoping maybe you would like a mixed drink, but very well."

"You don't have to get me drunk to get me to like you," Eriya said. 

I lied!

"You…like me?"

"Sure. You're such a talented artist. That's why I like you. Not anything else." Lied again!

"What about you, Naria?"

"You're okay," Naria said, picking up on Eriya's lying spree. "Not someone I'd date, though." 

What a sucker!

"Well, one out of two ain't bad," Daisuke said, pouring the lemonade. He took it to each of them.

"I wanted to discuss the way the photo shoot will go."

"I did too. You said you wanted to do up-close and personal? I've never done nude photography."

Eriya wanted to cringe but faked a low chuckle.

"We never said anything about that. Sexy, but by no means in a sexual way."

"That's hard. Like an ambiguous lesbian relationship on-camera?"

"Whoever gave you the idea that we're lovers is totally wrong. More of like 

'Casual sisters who care about each other more than life itself'."

"That's hard. Any skin at all?"

"No."

"That leaves a lot to the imagination. More is better."

"You'll get more after the photo shoot."

"Really? Is that what you came for? I had no idea that you were like that!"

Where has my life gone where I'm having Not-So-Fun Time with perverts like him?!

"Even squares like me need a little fun in our lives."

"And why would you do that with me?"

"Because you're a virgin and you need the experience," Eriya said. "I knew that from the time I first kissed you." 

Take it all in now, you swine.

"Well, I'll set up so that you two can start."

The twins headed to the bathroom to make themselves look attractive and discuss what they had to do.

"Okay, Naria, do you know what to do?"

"Sure. Snatch the photomanipulations, the pictures, and the negatives before you even finish up."

"I won't. He's probably get the tiniest little thing in his elastic-banded shorts and I'll most likely have to fake it so I won't hurt his feelings."

They both laughed. They hadn't been this evil in years. And they were enjoying every minute of it.

"I'll also have to use those special techniques you told me about, so I can buy you more time."

There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Are you both ready?"

"Just a moment!" Eriya said.

They both came out, looking like a movie star's paycheck.

"Wow. I didn't think casual could be sexy."

"Everyone has a different view of casual. That's why we look sexy to you. Or your mind is too sex-addled to have an opinion."

"Please, ladies. I'm a professional. Take a seat on the couch."

They both sat down on the couch.

"Now Eriya, sit on the couch, legs crossed. Naria lay on the other end…just like that! Stay that way!"

He snapped a picture.

"Naria, squat behind the couch so that you rest your head and arms on the back of it…Eriya, get into the position Naria was in."

They responded, and he snapped yet another.

"Okay, Eriya, stay that way. Naria, sit on the seat next to the couch, and cross your legs. Yeah! That's it!"

He snapped another.

He's only taken three pictures so far. At this rate, one roll of film will take about one hour.


	11. Yoink!

This was the part of the night Eriya dreaded. She actually had to make love to a geek. A virgin at that. That meant he might be a little rough.

Daisuke came into the room, and thankfully he left his shirt and boxer shorts on, even though the shirt said New Dominion Tank Police on it. So he was an anime geek after all.

Daisuke sat on the bed next to her, and stared at her, not knowing what to do. To avoid a huge disaster, Eriya said, "Just lie down and relax. Let me show you how it's done."

"Wait a minute, I need to take my glasses off," he said.

He took them off, only to reveal the second most beautiful pair of eyes she ever beheld. She was stunned at this development. Before he was a normal guy. Now, he was a guy with boyish looks, about the age she was when the war with the rebels was over. 

 Meanwhile, Naria, who had left the apartment, climbed back in through a window. Naria put on a pair of gloves and she began searching. First in the darkroom, where she found some pictures and some negatives. She then found the camera he had been using, and took the roll of film out of it. She found another next to it, which was most likely the roll he used to take photos of them at the College. She took that.

Naria went to his workroom, which had everything a person needed to alter pictures. She took a disk labeled Leopard Twins Project and searched for other things. She found a manila folder labeled Leopard Twins Finished Pictures. She opened it up, and found various photos of them together and they were poorly done. She was no expert, but her very perceptive eyes told her that wasn't her and her sis smooching. She took those too. She searched for other evidence, and then decided to raid Daisuke's hard drive. It took her about seven tries to figure out that the password was Annapuma, because she spied him wearing a Masamune Shirow t-shirt. She copied all the images onto a Zip drive disk, and deleted the originals. Not only put them in the Recycling Bin, but actually deleted them. She then took the Zip drive disk.

She found a check written out for the Japanese equivalent of $5,000. She copied it on his copying machine, hoping that it was a quiet machine.

It was. She got it done, placed the check back where it was before, put the copy in a bag and slipped out the window. She then silently wished her sister good luck.

 In the other room, a boyish man who had beautiful blue eyes and blond hair was dazzling Eriya. Daisuke seemed to have an intoxicating effect on her, and her strange attraction to him was intensifying by the minute. She wondered if he had spiked the lemonade.

"Daisuke, I want you to know that before we do this, I'm doing it because I love you, not because you need the experience. Don't see this as an opportunity to brag to the entire student body that you screwed the freaky leopard-girl. I'm doing this because I now genuinely do love you."

"Is that the truth?"

"Yes."

Daisuke seemed embarrassed.

"I have to tell you something. I lied to you before about taking the pictures for fun. I was going to make copies and use them. Do you know what for?"

"No."  
"I was going to manipulate the photos so that I could make it appear that you two were making out. It's not that I have a perverted mind, it's that Tanaka wants as much evidence as possible of you two doing it."

"Well, he's a dick. You should know that."

"Yeah, well, the money he paid me bought me a used car. One that I might drive you around in, if you give me the chance."

"What do you mean?"

"I wish that maybe we could date—"

"Of course! I wouldn't give up a chance to love you, blue-eyes!"

"You must think I'm scum."

"No, I think you're a very good man to admit you were wrong. But I'm afraid I haven't been so honest, either."

"What do you mean?"  
"As we speak, I think Naria's stealing your nasty pictures of us."

"Yeah, well, I deserve it. I treated you wonderful ladies like crap, when you were just being friendly and nice to me."

"It's okay. If we incriminate Tanaka, we'll call it even."


	12. The Morning After, (Again?!)

"Hey, Eriya! You're back from Daisuke's! I take it we got him good!"

"Yeah. Real good."

"What's wrong, Eriya? Aren't you happy that we got back at him for being a snoop?"

"I feel terrible. He was…"

"He didn't hurt you, did he? I'll kill him myself if he did!"

"No! Please! He's innocent. He's just caught up in a political conspiracy against me. I think I love him, Naria."

Naria's jaw dropped with shock. She never expected this.

"I even told him about our plan before we had the most wonderful time. Daisuke said he deserved it for treating such wonderful women like us like objects. He loves me, and I love him."

"Snap out of it, girl! This pervert poisoned your mind!"

"What he did is show me the second best time of my life. I love him Naria, and you can't change that."

"But he's such a weenie! No one likes him because he's a geek."

"Well, no one likes me because I look like a catwoman. So I guess there's no friggin' difference. Anyway, he said we could have whatever we stole."

"So we didn't steal all of it after all. He gave all of it to us."

"What evidence do we have?"

"Photos, negatives, poorly doctored-up photos and the computer files they came from."

"I think I can get Daisuke to testify against Tanaka."

"Yeah. After we do that, I can hit Tanaka where it hurts with the final piece of evidence."

"What's that, Naria?"

"A copy of the check written out to Daisuke Toriyamoto from a Yasuo Tanaka. Signed by the latter."

"Will this put Tanaka out of commission?"

"It depends on what the voters think. If they think that he tried to dishonor you, then you will be voted for. If they think we're trying to set him up, then they will vote for him. Either way the loser of the election goes away doubly humiliated."

"So we either hit big or miss big."

"Yeah. I'm going to have to go over my law and court procedures. Meanwhile, you should try and make some sense out of this evidence."


	13. Gotcha!

Eriya knocked on Kyle Friday's front door. A tall, blond American answered it, and he smiled.

"Kyle, it's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, Eriya. What's in the bag?"

"Evidence."

"Let me guess, a mock trial for Naria?"

"No. This is the real deal."

"A real case? And you want me to work on it?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Eriya! You're such a sweetheart!"

"Sorry, Kyle. I have a guy now."

"Who is it?"

"Daisuke Toriyamoto."

"The pervert?"

"He's just an attention-starved guy, that's all. Besides, I think he's got a few qualities about him. Daisuke really is misunderstood, and I love him."

"He banged you pretty good, didn't he?"

Eriya slapped him across the cheek. Kyle was stunned.

"I guess I deserved that," Kyle said. "But he was good to you, wasn't he?"

"A little socially inept, but nice."

"Well, let's take a look at this evidence."

After a whole large pizza, they had everything spread out on the table.

"What do you think, Kyle?"

"These pictures were definitely doctored by a photomanipulation program. You can tell because the paper quality is poor, which indicates it was printed by a computer printer, most likely a color quality printer, but not quality enough to convince the observant eye that it is genuine."

"What about the files?"

"They need to be perused with the help of an unbiased out-of-college expert. I'll take you to see her as soon as we clean up this place."

Eriya and Kyle cleaned up after themselves, and they left.

They talked as they rode to their destination.

"Kyle, do you believe me when I say we're innocent?"

"Of course. I wouldn't help you if I thought otherwise. Besides, what happened that night, you were unbelievably drunk and there was a lot of pressure on you. The combination of the two caused you to make a bad choice. We all make bad choices in our lifetime. Everyone does. There are no exceptions. Well, here we are."

Kyle pulled into a driveway. Eriya followed Kyle to the door. Kyle knocked on it, and a young woman with long black hair and glasses answered it.

"Hi, Kyle! What are you doing here? Oh, I see that you brought a friend!"

"Hello, um…"

"Michiko. Pleased to meet you." She bowed to them. They did likewise.

"What brings you here?"

"I have some computer files for you to examine."

"Really? What for?"

"It's really hush-hush. Unfortunately, it's also quite embarrassing."

"I take it it's really juicy?"

"Please, Michiko. Eriya is very sorry about what she did."

"You mean this evidence is incriminating?"

"No. It's merely illustrating a secret that she and her sister have held for three years. Someone knows their secret. And it's our job to make sure that this evidence incriminates him so that no one discovers the real truth."

"I see."

"It's a political conspiracy," Eriya said. "I think it could be named Lagergate."

"Lagergate?"

"It happened over a drinking game."

"You'll have to explain. Come on in."

 So, Eriya explained everything.

"That is a pickle," Michiko said. "Let me see those files."

Michiko put the Zip drive disk into the Zip drive, and turned on her computer. Eriya and Kyle pulled chairs up to the computer.

"Okay Daisuke, let's see what you've been working on," Michiko said.

Michiko opened all the files with a photomanipulation program, and began stripping away the layers of the main picture.

"I see how he did it, we just need the components."

Michiko looked through the others, and saw the pictures used to make the parts of it.

"Yurika!"

"You've found it?" Eriya said.

"No, I was just remembering my sister Yurika."

Eriya slapped her palm to her forehead.

"Well, It's pretty damn obvious," Michiko said. "Let me put this all together in a format that you can show the court."

It took a while, but it was done. Now a few things stood in her way on her quest for justice.


	14. The Cutting Edge

The crowd was huge. People from all over Japan had come to see the match of Naria's lifetime. It was at the Asamiya Arena, complete with a little 'obstacle course'. Naria had chosen a claymore, while her opponent was using a katana. She knew she might have an advantage over her opponent, due to the fact that she had two edges to use. But her opponent was fast, so fast that her name was Nariko "Monsoon" Gendo. Which meant Naria would have to dig deep into herself and give it 200%. Nariko looked at her with an intimidating look, but Naria had seen the look. It was the look of the nameless faces that she had slaughtered during the time she spent with the Zaibach forces. It didn't intimidate her one bit. 

All right. I've had a terrible time and you aren't going to scare me. She looked at Nariko as if she hated her, as if she were the very embodiment of what pissed her off.

 The fight started, and Nariko wasn't going to make the first move.

I know what you're doing, you bitch. Playing rope-a-dope with me won't work.

Naria closely followed Nariko's movements. Finally, Nariko made her move. She came in low, fast and furious. Naria managed to defend herself in time, and she held out for as long as she could. But Nariko scored.

 Naria made her move the next round, but Nariko began pushing her up a flight of stairs. But it was Nariko who buckled under the pressure and Naria scored.

 After that, it was tied. Naria needed to score one more time to put Nariko away for good.

 The round began, and Nariko came in again, fast and furious, taking swipes at Naria constantly. Naria kept backing up with no choice, knowing she was backing up into a wall. Naria timed it so that she jumped over Nariko and kicked her to the ground in mid-air. Nariko fell, lost her weapon, and was stunned.

Naria then landed, pivoted, kicked Nariko's blade away, and pointed her own blade at Nariko so that she could not get up.

 Everyone was stunned at what she had done.

The crowd then went wild. The official told her to back off, which she did. The official helped Nariko up, but now was the moment of truth.

Who won the match? Then the official raised the arm of…Naria.

The crowd went wild, and Naria jumped up and down, too excited to say anything. She had won. She had won the championship. She just could not speak. They gave her a trophy with her name engraved on it, and a scholarship extension check (which was about four feet long). Then they asked her to say something.

"Well, I'm lucky to have my sister as support. And I'd like to thank my special guy Folken-sama. I really wouldn't have learned to swordfight without him. But I won this especially for my friend Hikari Daishiba. I love her so very much. Thank you all, you are all so great."

That night, she came home, and Eriya was already making dinner. Naria turned on the television, and was waiting for the college sports news to come on. Finally it was on.

"The Asamiya Arena was the scene of a fight today. No, there wasn't a riot. Two young college women tested their mettle with a classic form of fighting that is rarely used today. One of our reporters was on the scene.

'That's right, Kasumi, I was here when I witnessed a spectacular display of speed, strength, and agility today. Naria Leopard defeated the reigning champion Nariko 'Monsoon' Gendo in a swordfighting match that we'll never forget. As you can see, Naria jumps over Nariko, knocking her down, and look at this! Practically pins Nariko down, making it look so effortless.'"

Naria turned off the television.

"You won the match?" Eriya said.

"Yep. I whupped her good, although I think I pushed myself too hard."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a little sore, that's all. What's for dinner?"

"I'm trying a new recipe for curry that I developed for my culinary classes. I need to test the final results before making some for class tomorrow."

"And I'm your lab-rat."

"Essentially, yes."

There was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Naria said.

"I forgot to tell you," Eriya said, "I invited Daisuke over for dinner."

Naria went to the front door.

"Who is it?"

"Pizza guy!"

"Cut the shit, Daisuke!"

Naria looked in the eyehole. It wasn't Daisuke. She went to her bag and pulled out her blade.

"Who's Daisuke? It's the pizza guy! You ordered a squid-and-anchovy pizza, right?"

Naria hid behind the door (off to the side) and opened it so it appeared to have opened itself. The person slunk in, and had no idea where Naria was. Naria gave him a solid kick in the pants that made him fall to the ground. He now got his bearings, and tripped Naria with a sweep kick.

"I'm impressed," Naria said, "But unfortunately, your luck has just run out, and mine is just beginning."

Amazingly, the man was able to disarm her with no problem. She was familiar with the style of fighting. It seemed to be a variant of karate.

"You may know karate," Naria said as she scooped up her sword, "but I know claymore."

Naria took a big swipe at the man, who thoroughly dodged it. She tried again, but it took the third attempt to make her realize that it was not working. Then someone burst into the room.

"Freeze, asshole!"

It was Eriya. She had a 9-millimeter in her hand and a pissed-off look on her face. She had the gun aimed right at his crotch.

"Make one more move and I'll blow your nuts off even before you can take another breath!"

"Shit," the man said.

"Who are you?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because the only thing you'll be pleasing a woman with for the rest of your life is your wallet."

The man thought for a moment.

"Tanaka sent me."

"Why?"

"He wanted me to get the shit back. You won't give it to me, will you?"

"I'll give it to you," Naria said. "I'll rip that tiny little thing of yours right off you body, you bastard."

"We'll let you live on two conditions," Eriya said. "One, don't go to the police and two, go back to Tanaka and tell him that his ass is ours."

"Deal. And if I don't?"

"We'll send your chopped up body to a cannibal compliments of the Leopard Twins."

"Fine. Can I go?"

"One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Stay right there," Naria said. She took out a Polaroid camera and took a picture of the man. She then whispered into Eriya's ear.

"What's your name?" Eriya demanded.

"Go to hell, you bitch."

Eriya fired the gun at his feet and he did a little dance.

"Give me your fucking name."

"Shigeru Minazuki! What the hell is your problem?"

"Get the hell out," Eriya said. "Before I decide to blow your prick off just for kicks."

The guy ran away as if he had seen a ghost.

Naria had written the guy's name on the picture and the day and time it was taken.

"Do we have our evidence?"

"Yeah. This'll look real good for Tanaka."


	15. Pool Party

Naria had seen her sister date Daisuke for a week now. It made her so sick of seeing those two together. She wished Daisuke could just…disappear.

She was desperate for a man, and she needed one badly. She had been able to scratch that certain itch, but there was an emotional itch that needed to be scratched badly. She needed a love. And no one was interested in her.

Which started her at square one. She spent so much time dominating the male student body in sports and in academics that they were afraid of her. They feared her.

 So she decided to try her last plan: put herself out in plain sight for them. She went to the swimming pool during free swim hours and put on the sexiest swimsuits she could afford. At first, the boys tried hard not to stare. But their will was weak and it didn't take long for them to start paying attention. She noticed a sign: Lifeguard Wanted. She had received the certification a long time ago so she applied for the job. She got the job and became known as "The cat that actually liked water."

 She spent her days supervising the pool, using her cat-like vision to keep an eye on the swimmers. She noticed a group of guys who came in every day.

 They were jocks. They'd brag about how many girls they've had, how macho they were. But one seemed a little gentle. He seemed a little nicer than the others. She observed them out of the corner of her eye.

One was a sumo wrestler named Toshiro. He ate too much, even for a sumo. Naria always scolded him about bringing food into the pool.

Another was a European exchange student named Julio. Julio was an arrogant jerk who thought he was always better than everyone else.

Yet another was Kyo, the baseball player that supposedly all the girls liked.

Finally, there was the American basketball player/diver named Antoine. He wasn't really into the things that the group did, he just went along with it.

 Then the boys started trying to irritate her. One day they (except for Antoine) came in with no clothes on and jumped right in the pool. She banned them for three days.

 But they came back. And tried harder. One day, Kyo faked drowning and tried tongue-kissing Naria when she attempted to perform rescue breathing on him. She banned him for the rest of the summer. But the rest came back. The boys were already there when she started a later shift, and she found a bowl of cat-food waiting for her on her lifeguarding chair. She tried not to let it bother her. She promptly dumped it in the trash, but Toshiro and Julio began meowing disruptively. She ignored that as well.

 She tested the water's temperature by skimming her foot into the water. 

"Banzaiii!"

She was hit hard by a large body and was thrown into the water. The water went up her nose and when she came up for air she was gasping and coughing.

"What's the matter, Naria? A little wet behind the ears?" Toshiro said.

"I'm going to dance on your grave, Fat-boy!" she said.

"Hey, I smell wet cat in here," Julio said.

"GET OUT! GET OUT! THE THREE OF YOU! I DON'T WANT TO EVER SEE YOU OR YOUR FRIENDS IN THIS POOL AGAIN!!!"

Toshiro and Julio left, but Antoine stayed.

"GET OUT, YOU LECHEROUS PERVERT! ARE YOU DEAF?!!"

He walked over to the bench she was sitting on and sat down next to her.

"Leave me alone, you fucking wiseass," she said.

"I deserve that," Antoine said. "My name's Antoine Jordan. I shouldn't have let them do that to you."

"What the fuck do you care?!"

"I care. A lot. About you."

"Cut the shit," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're an asshole and I know it."

"I'm sorry, Naria. I shouldn't have let them do that. I'm a terrible person. I apologize. They never were very nice to girls anyway. You know all that bragging they do?"

"Yeah?" she sniffed.

"All lies. They are all virgins."

Naria smiled. 

"What a bunch of cards."

"Yeah. I've been sitting there with the guys all summer long and I've secretly admired you."

"You have?"

"Yes. I may not know much about swordfighting, but if swordfighting gave you a body like that, I say keep it up."

"Thanks," she said. "Maybe I could give you some free lessons? I run my own business. I teach swordfighting privately."

"No thanks. But I'd like to go one-on-one with you."

"Oh?!" Naria exclaimed. He's a pig after all!

"On the basketball court. I can school you in the literal sense of the word."

Whew! I guess he knows his place!

"Sure! I'd love to! I've never played basketball before, but I'm sure you can teach me!"

"I hope you don't get offended when I say this, but you're a hottie."

"You're not so bad yourself." Naria had learned quite a bit of language since coming to school. Including some cusswords, as you already know.

"And I haven't even taken my shirt off yet."

Naria laughed.

"This is too funny. I've been looking for a man all summer, and now I have one."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course,"

"What's the difference between kissing you and kissing a human?"

"This."

Naria embraced Antoine, and kissed him like she had never kissed anyone else before. They broke off, and Antoine was speechless.

"Oh, my God, that was…wow! I can't believe it! That was incredible!"

Naria smirked to herself.

"Naria, when will I see you again?!"

"My place. Five-thirty. And don't be late."


	16. Silver and Gold

Naria began rummaging through her closet but could not find anything to play basketball in. She settled for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She used her gym shoes as well.

Eriya was doing something a little more romantic. Daisuke promised to take her to a sushi bar downtown and she wanted to look nice. She chose a red strapless dress that was skirt-length.

"Staying home again, Naria?" Eriya said.

"No. Antoine is picking me up."

"Is he hot?"

"Oh yes. And he's no jerk either. He's the nicest Earth-person that ever had a nice body. I really want to get inside his head and figure out what he has thoughts on."

"Like yourself?"

"Eriya! Our relationship is actually pure friendship."

"You lie! You know that I always was a better liar than you. That's why I'm going to be Student President."

"That's if I defend you from Tanaka," Naria said.

"Wh-what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I may not want to defend you."

"Why the hell not?! You wouldn't dare! _Your_ honor is at stake here, as well!"

"But I have nothing to lose. I'm past my prime as a collegiate athlete. All I have to do is succeed from this school and I can become a full-fledged lawyer. The only thing I can lose is my life-guarding job!"

"Wrong! The college doesn't tolerate irresponsible actions by their students, _especially _when it comes to alcohol. Schools don't tolerate drug use and alcohol consumption very well. You can lose your enrollment status and you can fall so short of graduating. Do you really want that?"

"No, but I'm tired of always having to save your ass!"

"I can manage fine on my own, thank you!"

"Oh, really? Does that mean I can kick you out right now? You can go live with your asshole boyfriend and he can bore you with his pathetic life?"

"TAKE THAT BACK, NARIA!"

"I will not!"

"TAKE IT BACK OR I'LL SEND YOU TO FOLKEN!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!"

Eriya grabbed a porcelain vase from a shelf and smashed it on her sister's head, which appeared more painful than it really was. Naria promptly slammed a closed fist into Eriya's nose, which gushed blood. Eriya punched her sister in the stomach. Naria tackled her sibling to the ground and they began wrestling. The door opened, with Daisuke and Antoine standing in the doorway. They both realized what was happening, and they rushed in, attempting to pry the leopard-girls apart. After two minutes and a few bruises, they succeeded.

"What on earth is going on here?!" Antoine exclaimed.

"Naria…and I…fighting…" Eriya said, fighting through her tears of frustration.

"Why were you fighting?" Daisuke said in the typical Clueless Male™ fashion.

"Jealousy…" Naria cried.

Eriya and Naria make their way towards one another again, this time embracing each other in a fusion of flesh, blood, sweat, and tears.

"Why did we do it?" Naria cried to her sibling.

"This is so wrong. What on earth have we done?" Eriya cried back.

"I'm so sorry, Eriya. I know how much Daisuke-_san _means to you. I just wish that I could be as happy as you are," Naria said.

"I'm so envious of you, too. The boys stare at you like you're a goddess and I wish I could get that attention. You also swordfight so well and I wish that I could swordfight as well as you. I always wanted to be just like you, but I've failed."

Eriya and Naria break off, but are still embracing each other.

"That's our problem right there. We are trying to be so much like each other that we are losing our identities and are attempting to become one another."

"I think we should stop and be happy with what we have."

"But we've always wanted more."

"True, but we can still get what we want by going different ways. That way we can achieve what we want by daring to be different."

"I love you, Eriya."

Naria then kissed her sister on the forehead. The girls looked towards their dates.

"Don't say a word, Daisuke," Naria said.

"Did I say anything?"

"You _thought _it. I just love my sister very much, that's all. But not _that _much."

"Hey, whatever you say!" Daisuke said.

"I'm serious, Daisuke! We are not like that!"

"Okay! You don't have to tell me twice!"

Eriya was trying to stop the bleeding, while Naria was massaging her skull where the vase had hit her.

"Our night has just turned into nightmare," Eriya said.

"Not so fast. Daisuke and I will take care of you until tomorrow," Antoine said as he elbowed Daisuke in the ribs. "Right, Daisuke?"

"Sure, I guess. But Eriya hasn't eaten yet and Naria probably hasn't either."

"No problem. I'll just have some food delivered to us."

"Do you think we could get pizza?" Eriya said.

"No way, Eriya! We should order Chinese food!"

"Naria—!"

"Ladies, please! Control yourselves! I'll order Chinese while Daisuke can order pizza. Okay?"

The two women looked at each other and nodded.

"It's settled, then. We order out."


	17. Tragedy Revisited

Naria had been sitting there for almost an hour, and her rear was getting sore. Luckily she was able to cut her swimsuit so that her tail was not tucked into her clothes. It helped that she wasn't sitting on her tail, but she still was hurting from it. She got up and walked around the pool, keeping an eye on the kids inside the pool. It was free swim time, and it was the time that they let in the general public in as well. This tested her heightened senses and attention span. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Antoine Jordan. She started paying more attention to him than the others. Antoine came over to her.

"Hey, pretty lady," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks to you. Where were you?"

"I just came from the dining hall. I had the munchies. So I grabbed a Snickers bar from the machines."

"Mmm. Snickers bars are good." Naria loved chocolate, Snickers bars in particular. She loved that combination of chocolate, caramel, peanuts and that fluffy stuff in the middle. Whenever she wanted to spoil herself, she bought a Snickers bar.

"Well, I came to practice my diving. Is that okay?"

"I don't see why not," she said. "It's all little kids and they're all in the shallow end."

He winked at her and he made his way to the diving board.

That Antoine is so hot. No wonder I love him.

She watched as he climbed the ladder, and he made it to the top. He gave her a thumbs-up as he stood there, trying to gain composure.

 When he was ready, he rushed forward, bounced on the end of the diving board and launched himself into the air. What followed totally horrified Naria beyond words.

As she and the children watched, Antoine screamed in pain as he hurtled to the water below.  He landed with a large SPLASH. Instinctively, she dove into the water. The time in the water seemed to play in slow motion.

She swam lower and lower, and picked Antoine off the pool floor. She struggled with all her might to bring she and Antoine to the surface. She brought him to the side and pushed him onto the deck. She hoisted herself out of the water, and immediately began to do the things she spent so much time practicing.

She checked to see if he was breathing, and he was not. She began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the children looked on, scared.

"Come on, man! Antoine, don't do this to me!"

She took a few breaths, and began chest compressions again.

"Not in front of the children, Antoine! Pull through!"

Reminded of Lord Folken's death, she began to cry at the same time.

_Come on, Antoine! I'm not going to lose two men in my lifetime!_

A brave boy came up to her and spoke.

"Miss Kitty-Lady, should I get a grown-up?"

"Go get the bald man in the room with the computer in it!"

"Okay. Will he be alright, Miss Kitty-Lady?"  
"Please go!"

"Okay!"

The boy left, and she began taking breaths again.

Naria tried not to swear and cuss in front of the children.

She began chest compressions, and all of a sudden his body became alive, and he began coughing up water. He seemed a little confused, but when he looked into Naria's eyes, he sat up and hugged her.

"I almost lost you, like Folken—" Naria said.

He pulled back, and he kissed her.

The kids complained about 'cooties' but the couple didn't care. Naria had saved the man she loved from the very same entity that claimed Lord Folken: Death.

They had broke off just as the supervisor rushed in.

"Is everything alright?"

"It was just a huge cramp while diving. I took a nasty fall and swallowed quite a lot of water. But your lifeguard saved my life. It may be her job, but she deserves a heck of a lot more than just a pat on the back."

"I'll see that she gets rewarded. Meanwhile, I'm going to call an ambulance to get you checked out."

"Thank you so much," he said. "I see my scholarship isn't going to waste."

The supervisor left.

"What did you mean, 'I almost lost you, like Folken?'"

"What I'm about to say is going to sound unbelievable."

"Okay. What is it?"

"I'm from another world."

"Huh?"

"See? I knew you wouldn't understand."

"But how is that possible?"

"A young girl was transported to our world of Gaea. She played a key role in a war between the Zaibach Empire and the three rebellious kingdoms of Fanelia, Asturia, and Freid."

"Because of her, your side won?"

"We _lost_. We were part of the Zaibach Empire, servants of a young military strategist/swordsman. That man was my first love, Lord Folken.  Eriya was in love with him as well. We both served him as if we loved him more than life itself, but we failed to protect him from his brother, Lord Van. He died on his brother's sword, and we lost him forever. After that, we did not want to live. We thought about what you Earth-people call suicide. But the young girl offered to bring us back to Earth. We figured we had nothing to lose, so we went with her. And that's how we ended up here."

"But how did you become _servants_? You're too good for that!"

"My people were attacked when Eriya and I were young. The enemy's mission was to capture, annihilate, and destroy. We decided it would be better to die than to be sold into slavery. So my sister and I jumped off a great height. We should've died, but guess who caught us?"

"Folken?"

"Right on. And we promised to serve him ever since, because we owed our lives to him. Soon that respect for our lord became love, and all of a sudden, we're finding ourselves in a love triangle."

"I guess he was pretty hot, then."

"Oh, yeah. He really commanded attention in a room. You couldn't stop staring at the man."

"I hope you don't think that I'm going to replace him."

"Oh, no. You never could. But I love you in a certain way. One that allows me to love you as much as I loved him."

Naria put her hand to her mouth and gasped, as if she said something wrong.

"What is it, Naria?"

"I can't believe it. I just said I love you as much as I loved Folken! I think I may have gotten over his death! Do you know what this means?"

"What?"

"The healing process is over! I think my mood has gone back to normal!"

Naria hugged her love close to her, content and happy.


End file.
